Loading Events

Mining biotechnology for value recovery and environmental sustainability

Mining biotechnology provides sustainable alternatives to traditional mining methods for extracting value from low grade ores and wastes. Moreover, biotechnology can be harnessed to treat (bio)hydrometallurgical and mine waters and decrease the environmental footprint of mining operations. This presentation will give an overview of CSIRO activities in bioleaching and bio-oxidation of low-grade ores, mine wastes and post-consumer wastes such as batteries and electronic wastes. Moreover, studies on removing inorganic and organic contaminants and recovering value from metallurgical effluents will be discussed.

____________________________________________

Anna Kaksonen has about 20 years’ experience in various aspects of biomining, from bio-oxidising and bioleaching low-grade ores to treating waste streams and recovering resources. During her Doctor of Technology degree, she developed fluidized bed reactor processes for biotechnical mine water treatment at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland. As a Senior Researcher at TUT, she also contributed to the development of heap bioleaching for complex low-grade black schist ores, bioprocesses for excess iron and sulfate removal from barren leach liquors and metal recovery from various metallurgical wastes. In 2009 Anna joined Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia as a Team Leader of Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology. In 2017 she was appointed as Group Leader for Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology. Anna has delivered projects to a number of companies on base metal and precious metal biomining, as well as biotechnical removal of organic and inorganic impurities from hydrometallurgical process waters. She has also been active in urban mining, developing bioprocesses for the extraction of metals from electronic wastes.

Mining biotechnology for value recovery and environmental sustainability

Event Details

Venue

September 19, 2019 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Venue

Wallberg WB407 @ 200 College St., Toronto

Mining biotechnology provides sustainable alternatives to traditional mining methods for extracting value from low grade ores and wastes. Moreover, biotechnology can be harnessed to treat (bio)hydrometallurgical and mine waters and decrease the environmental footprint of mining operations. This presentation will give an overview of CSIRO activities in bioleaching and bio-oxidation of low-grade ores, mine wastes and post-consumer wastes such as batteries and electronic wastes. Moreover, studies on removing inorganic and organic contaminants and recovering value from metallurgical effluents will be discussed.

____________________________________________

Anna Kaksonen has about 20 years’ experience in various aspects of biomining, from bio-oxidising and bioleaching low-grade ores to treating waste streams and recovering resources. During her Doctor of Technology degree, she developed fluidized bed reactor processes for biotechnical mine water treatment at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland. As a Senior Researcher at TUT, she also contributed to the development of heap bioleaching for complex low-grade black schist ores, bioprocesses for excess iron and sulfate removal from barren leach liquors and metal recovery from various metallurgical wastes. In 2009 Anna joined Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia as a Team Leader of Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology. In 2017 she was appointed as Group Leader for Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology. Anna has delivered projects to a number of companies on base metal and precious metal biomining, as well as biotechnical removal of organic and inorganic impurities from hydrometallurgical process waters. She has also been active in urban mining, developing bioprocesses for the extraction of metals from electronic wastes.

Upcoming Events

All
  • All
  • Alumni events
  • Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office events
  • Convocation events
  • Faculty & staff events
  • Info sessions
  • Lectures, seminars and workshops
  • Socials
  • U of T holidays & closures

Academic/Student Registration – 2025 CRAFT Microfluidics Professional Course

Wed July 9, 2025 @ 8:30 am - Fri July 11, 2025 @ 5:30 pm
The 2025 Microfluidics Professional Course is designed as a crash course for industrial researchers with little or no experience in the microfluidics field. It is open to international attendees and will include...

2025 Toronto Robotics Conference

Tue July 15, 2025 @ 9:00 am - Wed July 16, 2025 @ 4:00 pm
Join the University of Toronto Robotics Institute’s expert network at the University of Toronto Mississauga on July 15 and 16 for a two-day, dual-track showcase of the latest AI-robotics research...

U of T Alumni x Featherstone Estate Winery Event

Thu July 17, 2025 @ 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
  Located in the beautiful setting of Niagara wine country, Featherstone Estate Winery—owned by close friends of the university Rayla and George Myhal (U of T Engineering)—will open its doors for an unforgettable alumni celebration.  ...

Summer Skule: U of T Engineering lectures on demand

Sun August 31, 2025
The summer months means new opportunities for lifelong learning, starting with this curated line-up of our most popular alumni events. If you missed any of our events this past year, now’s...